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IWC Appointment Splits Town Council

The Town Council’s decision to appoint a Democrat to fill a vacancy on the Inland Wetland Commission (IWC) over a commission-endorsed Republican candidate to retain party control of the seat has raised the eyebrows of some council members and members of the public.

At the start of each Town Council meeting, as part of its purview, the council runs through a list of nominees for vacancies on one of the town’s various boards and commissions. The names put forth are usually done so with the endorsement of one of the town’s political parties, and the appointments are typically unanimously approved by the council. Occasionally, if two people are interested in the same seat, the council will go into an executive session to interview the candidates and discuss who the members feel is a better fit.

In early March, the IWC unanimously voted to endorse Robert Corson, a Republican and alternate on the commission, to take over a full seat created when Democratic member Robert LaFrance was removed from the IWC due to missing numerous meetings. IWC chairman Scott Harley, a Democrat, even wrote a letter endorsing Corson for the position.

However, at the April 3 Town Council meeting, the council exited an executive session and voted to appoint Democrat Tom Welch to the vacancy. The motion was approved with four in favor (Democrats Hank Teskey, Brian Roccapriore, Chris Passante, and Republican Chris Aniskovich) and two abstentions (Republicans Mike Shove and Dennis Donovan).

The decision not to approve Corson despite IWC's unanimous endorsement and the Democrats’ explanation has Republican council members and residents asking questions about the council's process.

Party Control

Town Council chairperson Carrie Allen, a Democrat, told the Harbor News after the meeting that the possible appointment of Corson concerned members of the Democratic Town Committee (DTC) and council for two main reasons.

One reason was that the seat had previously belonged to a Democrat, and filling it with a Republican could remove a potential seat from Democrats for years since most appointments are filled by party line.

Allen cited the second reason for denying Corson’s appointment: It would have flipped the balance of the IWC to a Republican majority board. Currently, there are three Republican, three Democratic, and one unaffiliated full seat on the commission. Corson would have flipped the IWC to four Republican, two Democratic, and one unaffiliated full seat.

When asked if she was worried about upsetting anyone by ignoring the IWC's recommendation to appoint Corson, Allen asserted she felt people would understand the reasoning and that, in the grand scheme of life, “people have bigger problems to deal with than this.”

“These seats are hard earned and hard fought. We would have had no problem appointing a Republican to a Republican seat, but not one that had been a Democrat seat. We could have lost that seat forever, and that worried members of the DTC. I think Republicans would have done the same thing fighting for a Republican-controlled seat,” Allen said.

Allen recalled that the Republican council members initially made an unsuccessful motion to keep the chairmanship of the Town Council despite losing the majority of that board last November.

Allen stated that since November, the council has appointed eight different Republicans unanimously to various roles, though Allen said those were for seats vacated by a Republican.

“The DTC should do a better job about watching commission attendance and absences, and there was a good reason the seat was open,” Allen added. Allen, Passante, Teskey, and Roccapriore are all members of the DTC and the Town Council.

DTC chairman Paul Gebauer contacted Harbor News to say the DTC has a responsibility to registered Democrats to protect and fight for Democratic-controlled seats.

“I think Democrats in town should be proud we stood up for that seat,” Gebauer said.

Gebauer also contended that appointing Welch to the IWC to keep the commission composition even was no more or less “political” than appointing Corson and making the commission a Republican majority.

“Politics does come into play in these things sometimes, and people shouldn’t pretend otherwise,” Gebauer said.

With Welch’s appointment the IWC now has three Republican full seats, three Democratic full feats, an unaffiliated full seat, one Republican alternate seat, and two Democratic alternate seats.

Corson’s Take

Corson, who is also the chairman of the Republican Town Committee (RTC), strongly disagreed with the reasons put forth for denying his appointment.

“I would understand if it was an elected seat but it is an appointed position. They’ve never gone against what a board itself has wanted before,” Coson said.

Corson also said he was bothered by the council’s policy of going into executive session to discuss appointments.

“That should be done in public if it’s not a paid position or for disciplinary reasons,” Corson said. Despite Corson’s objection, the executive session policy has been in place before the Democrats held a majority of the council.

While he admitted he was upset his appointment was denied for what he considered political reasons, Corson said he was content to move on and let the issue rest.

“Bickering back and forth between the parties will get us nowhere, so we should move on, and we can all focus on what’s best for Clinton,” Corson said.

People vs. Politics?

During a discussion on the vote to approve Welch’s appointment, Council member Donovan stressed that he had nothing against Welch but was abstaining from the vote because he did not approve of the process the council followed during the appointment.

Following the meeting, Donovan reiterated that while he has no qualms about Welch serving on the commission, he said since the IWC had endorsed Corson and is already an alternate on the commission, he should have been appointed.

“It bothers me that it seems like we’re going back to politics over people,” Donovan said.

At the start of the meeting, Wayne Buchanan read the letter from Harley endorsing Corson for the full seat.

“As a current alternate commission member, Robert has attended all regular monthly meetings and special meetings since his appointment and has demonstrated a firm understanding and commitment to upholding Clinton’s Inland Wetland Regulations,” Harley wrote in part.

Later in the letter Harley wrote that since the IWC is an appointed board not an elected one the vacant seat does not need to be filled by a member of the same party and that if Corson had been appointed the commission would still be compliant with rules that require boards have minority party representation.

“In my seven plus years of serving on the IWC, the Town Council and previous Board of Selectmen has always followed the IWC’s endorsement when voting to appoint an alternate member to a full seat,” Harley stated.

Harley is correct that it is unusual for the council to disregard an appointment endorsed by the board itself. The most similar instance occurred almost exactly four years ago.

In 2020, the nomination for Republican Gary Bousquet to serve as the tree warden over the then-current tree warden was approved by the Town Council along party lines even after some members of the Tree Committee complained they were not consulted about the appointment. Members of the RTC had complained that Bousquet was removed from the position in 2018 for arbitrary reasons in the first place.

In Support of Welch

Prior to the vote on April 3 Gebauer voiced his support for Welch, touting his high character as well as his current involvement on the Ethics Commission and Coastal Resiliency Committee.

Allen echoed those sentiments after the meeting. “We’re really pleased that Tom Welch has been appointed to IWC as he is a thoughtful resident that has served Clinton quietly and effectively for years. He understands that his task on IWC is to keep Clinton projects within the established regulations,” Allen said in part.